- Thread starter Caribbeandreamto
- Start date
Overnight Tours: Your Opinion
The demographic was a bad example because I don't have access to 100% of the Punta Cana market. It was more to make the point that these types of tours would be more expensive but more intimate. In any case, we would advertise these tours on our website like any of our other excursions.
You are right about my desire to justify the idea. I already have an inclination to offer the tours and that's why I made my original post. With that said, I sometimes get great advice from dr1 so I threw the idea on the board.
As already stated, it costs us nothing to put these options on our site. If they don't sell, oh well, we tried. Business is going well with simple day excursions but I always like to try and think outside the box.
Everyone's opinions were appreciated.
Although with the new highway everything is closer, you have to keep in mind that a lot of people when they're on vacation aren't looking to travel that much. If the destination is 4-5 hours away, it's basically a full day spent on the road for an overnighter. Doing it upon arrival might be an option if it were closer but for some people, after having gotten up at 4am to drive 2 hours to the airport, 2-3 hour wait to board, a 4-5 hour flight, etc, getting into a vehicle to drive an additional 4-5 hours is not too interesting, even if it's a 2 nighter. I think you might be onto something though and I'm sure you'll get plenty of ideas off of us 
I'm guessing you've approached some of the national airlines to see if they could give you a special deal for groups? That would probably solve many of your problems...
I'm guessing you've approached some of the national airlines to see if they could give you a special deal for groups? That would probably solve many of your problems...I think there is a path to what you want, but I think it's going to take some time to develop and that you should be talking to your current adventurous clients. Maybe start by having an upsell on the current excursion? I think some folks may want to split the transit time between two days. I, for one, would be whipped after eight hours on a bus round trip, but I can see splitting it over two days if I was already planning on going to the same spot anyway. The travel time from PC to Jarabacoa would be a deal-breaker for me and I'm more adventurous than the AI demo. What would the travel time be with all of the breaks?
Well the approximate non-stop travel time between Punta Cana and Jarabacoa is 4 1/2 hours. When the Coral Highway is complete, this will be 4 hours. If we make two stops, the total travel time, assuming the Coral highway is 100% complete, will be about 5 hours.
Look at it this way, you are asking someone who has saved all year to stay 7 days in an AI to then pay even more money to spend two days and one night away from food, drinks and lodging that they have already paid for. Before I retired I did the AI deal saved my money flew in stayed flew out. The trips were to escape from winter and work. My summer vacations in and around North america on my motor cycle were my real lets see the country adventures. Now I am retired and I save each year to be able to afford two or three months in the DR on a budget so I can escape winter. However my see the country adventures are still on my bike in North America. There will be people that will take you up on the tours how many depends on marketing and amenities!
The other problem with Jarabacoa for Europeam toruists is that there are plenty of pine forests and moutains back home. Without wildlife etc there isn't sufficient to attract them. Cold weather is a novelty for Dominicans but the Europeans have paid to get away frpm it.
IMO the Zona Colonial is the best over night option in the DR. Although there needs to be more development going on in the Zona to attract tourists: bookshops, art galleries, coffee shops, good quality souvenir shops, cultural events in the churches. etc. + reinstate the Trampolin Museum/Rodrigo de Bastidas house as a cultural centre - what a wasted resouce a children's musuem does not need to be in one of the more beautiful house in the city IMO!
IMO the Zona Colonial is the best over night option in the DR. Although there needs to be more development going on in the Zona to attract tourists: bookshops, art galleries, coffee shops, good quality souvenir shops, cultural events in the churches. etc. + reinstate the Trampolin Museum/Rodrigo de Bastidas house as a cultural centre - what a wasted resouce a children's musuem does not need to be in one of the more beautiful house in the city IMO!
If the key issue is that people lose what they have paid for why not do a deal with the hotels? Pay them some commission and in return the people who go on your excursion get things from the hotel they would have paid for? Like premium drinks or meals in special restaurants or free something which they would have had to pay for in the hotel?
Matilda
Matilda
AI budgeting and price-setting actually COUNT on a certain number of people to be "out for the day" and not eat and drink in the hotel. It is in the hotels' best interest to have as many people out for the day excursion as possible (that's why they don't take commission, or very little, from the excursion operators). I see no chance the hotels actually "providing" or refunding amenities to travelers that would go for this kind of excursions.
I know a couple of excursion operators who complain that resorts require a 40-50% commission.
Additionally, resort managers (Alida used to be one) use daily census to plan for meals. There isn't really a way to figure who isn't going to eat a particular meal on a particular day
I'm not so sure that the AI's *want* people going out. One reason is there is a chance of PR damage if a guest goes out and something bad happens, liability mitigation. Think about the damage that was caused in the Rio San Juan incident when all those Brits got really sick. The resort was shut down and virtually bankrupted. Then it was discovered that the ONLY folks that got sick were on the same plane...nobody else got sick.
Additionally, in a volume business, it's handling the exception that is costly.
CB, what I said that resorts *want* guests to be as much out as possible is based on several conversations I have had with representatives of big foreign tour operators, as well as with some of the hotels' management. Actually it was one hotel's commercial manager that mentioned me that they actually counted of the percentage of guest being out for lunch, and they planned around it. Also weather forecasts play a huge role, because with rainy weather people tend to stick around rooms and lobby and eat full lunch at the buffet, and while it is sunny they hang around pool and beach and eat quick lunch at a beach restaurant.
As far as commissions, while it is possible that some hotels may ask for some commission on some tours, it is not on all of them. For example, a water park gives tour operators only about a 20% discount, while truck safaris as much as 50%. An excursion sold to water park/dolphins would not be able to pay 40-50% commission , because the very rep selling the tour gets 10 to 15% commission, the rest goes to the incoming tour operator.
Also it is important to differentiate between "tour operator", "receptive operator" and "excursion operator". Tour operator is the one who sends the people out of their home country and into the hotel, and pays for the hotel. The receptive operator is the one that picks up clients at the airport, gives them local service, and sells the excursions (at the rep tables). Sometimes foreign tour operators have delegates that work along with the receptive tour operator, and it's the delegate that sells the excursions. The money is then split between TTOO and RROO.
Receptive operator MAY be excursion operator, but most likely not. RROO run excursions like Santo Domingo and Saona at the most. At Saona/Catalina they subcontract with the excursion operator, the one that has the boats. There are only handful of them. Saona is actually a multi-layered excursion, because excursion operator (from Bavaro) may actually subcontract to another excursion operator (boat owner) and the EEOO links it with transportation.
Excursion Operators (EEOO) are the ones that make and operate excursions. They usually operate on behalf of a certain receptive tour operator, or sell to many receptive tour operators (buggies, truck safaris, marinarium, etc.)
EEOO (as mentioned those that operate truck safari, buggies, ranch, zipline, fun boat, etc.) do not sell direct to the end clients (hotel guests). They sell to receptive operators for direct sales in the hotels, and to foreign tour operators for pre-sale abroad. Though not much pre-selling is done. I mentioned it here some time ago that interest in excursions were more of fellow-hotel-guest-attended-excursion-got-emotion generated than anything else.
What I want to say is that among all the layers of sales process, the % are skimmed off at each level, but I do not think hotel would get anywhere near 40% off the ticket price.
As far as commissions, while it is possible that some hotels may ask for some commission on some tours, it is not on all of them. For example, a water park gives tour operators only about a 20% discount, while truck safaris as much as 50%. An excursion sold to water park/dolphins would not be able to pay 40-50% commission , because the very rep selling the tour gets 10 to 15% commission, the rest goes to the incoming tour operator.
Also it is important to differentiate between "tour operator", "receptive operator" and "excursion operator". Tour operator is the one who sends the people out of their home country and into the hotel, and pays for the hotel. The receptive operator is the one that picks up clients at the airport, gives them local service, and sells the excursions (at the rep tables). Sometimes foreign tour operators have delegates that work along with the receptive tour operator, and it's the delegate that sells the excursions. The money is then split between TTOO and RROO.
Receptive operator MAY be excursion operator, but most likely not. RROO run excursions like Santo Domingo and Saona at the most. At Saona/Catalina they subcontract with the excursion operator, the one that has the boats. There are only handful of them. Saona is actually a multi-layered excursion, because excursion operator (from Bavaro) may actually subcontract to another excursion operator (boat owner) and the EEOO links it with transportation.
Excursion Operators (EEOO) are the ones that make and operate excursions. They usually operate on behalf of a certain receptive tour operator, or sell to many receptive tour operators (buggies, truck safaris, marinarium, etc.)
EEOO (as mentioned those that operate truck safari, buggies, ranch, zipline, fun boat, etc.) do not sell direct to the end clients (hotel guests). They sell to receptive operators for direct sales in the hotels, and to foreign tour operators for pre-sale abroad. Though not much pre-selling is done. I mentioned it here some time ago that interest in excursions were more of fellow-hotel-guest-attended-excursion-got-emotion generated than anything else.
What I want to say is that among all the layers of sales process, the % are skimmed off at each level, but I do not think hotel would get anywhere near 40% off the ticket price.